Holiday Inn Beware!

[tojol57]

Why were my words deleted on the locked thread... Murder in PV after bayside
when I said let it be... The fight had ended there...
Tom tired of your mocking...
Many saw my post and your response was same as on this thread then your post changed...

my final thoughts on this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67J_66hdN-I

all i did was add the "song" ... that is all i did Sylvia..... there was no mocking... just applying an explanation point to your "let it be...."

[Plus4]

OK Tom I accept that...but my words on the other thread the locked one were deleted and your post changed..???

It's ok you are the mod and know best...

[webmaster]

Some people love to have the last word... but I don't think it's bad that people express themselves, as long as it's done with respect and education. A negative post is to be expected on this section, but many people have different experiences and like to put things into perspective, plus have their own view and will express it. Over time threads lose focus and when it's completely lost are normally shut down.

Mogens
Webhamster

[hurricaneshecky]

The only issue I have is when somebody stays at a 3 star AI resort then trashes it because it isn't a 5 star.

[Jennybean]

The only issue I have is when somebody stays at a 3 star AI resort then trashes it because it isn't a 5 star.

Because it bears repeating in this scenario.

[kcowan]

3-star is not moldy, just a little worn and old.

[webmaster]

I've been to 2, 3, 4, 5 star and Grand Turismo hotels... the Crown Paradise (5 star, I think) in Cancun has a humid smell and our cloths and travel bag got moldy (never got the black stains off), but as we were in a humid destination we took it in stride, it's not as if a little mold here or there will kill you!

Mogens

[BUFFETT 06]

so how many stars do you all have when ordering the spicey chicken terriyaki? sorry if i killed the mood

[reggaelovemusic]

we were at the hi in jan for 2 weeks ai. cant complain, we had a room facing the construction asked for another next morning got a pool and ocean view.. hard beds they all are unless your staying at a 5 star.
good drinks plastic is safer then glass around pool cant blame them.. food was repetitious 2nd week but was good. service was great. small tips are always appreciated..

we stayed at a 3 star costa club 2 years in a row , so you can see the difference between the 3 and 4.
also stayed at a 4 star mona linda up in the moutains, in the romantic zones. that had beautiful authentic condo type but old old appliances, and lots of stairs no lifts and no tv or radio or phone. so go figure.

also stayed at the Los Tulos. beautiful place but we had a terrible room and no all inclusive.. very expensive for my taste for what you get..

also stayed at the grand mayan . now thats class cant find anything wrong there but you pay through the nose.

so for the price of the hi i find the best so far for quality view and service. don;t compare to cruises or hotels in canada or us. totally different standards,

but don;t forget you are in a different country dont you want to have a different experience and have a little of the ambiance of mexico..

if you want all perfect mayby should stick to cruises and a 5 plus star hotels. we like to mingle with the people and learn some of there ways of living ...

cant wait til next year to go again to H I..

hola

[deollafan]

Hope this reply doesn't open a new can of worms, but I feel, after reading through this thread, that I need to put in my two cents worth. This may come under the argument of AI vs. no AI, but here goes:

The first time I visited Vallarta was 1993. The ONLY reason that I wound up there was because my partner (at the time) and I agreed that, although we wanted to go to Puerto Escondido, at the time it was just too much of a challenge to get there. Another friend of mine had been there before and recommended, so we decided to go to PV. We booked two tickets from a travel agent (in the days before everything was on the internet), bought a guidebook for Mexico, chose a place to stay, and blindly went for a month's vacation in a place we had never been to. We rented an apartment from Posado de Roger (one of the apartments above the lavanderia on Olas Altas) and sweated out the end of July through the end of August. We worked out at the rusty gym at the beach that used to be next to the Blue Chairs (it's a timeshare office now, I believe.) I fell in love with the place and didn't want to go home. I've put up with sunburn, diarrhea, almost drowning once at Chino's Paradise, noise, heat, etc., and keep coming back for more. One summer I lived at Janitzio for a month (on Olas Altas) and the next month found an apartment on Guadalupe Sanchez just by walking down the street and noticing a sign near Pipi's. During every visit, I might eat breakfast in, but I eat out lunch and dinner every day. So why on earth, with all that's going on in PV, would someone make the trip to Mexico and choose to eat a mediocre buffet at an all-inclusive, when, with a little research, you can rent an apartment or condo and have a much better time. Poodlelady obviously wasn't looking for a real Mexican experience. I've been to Honolulu and, although the beaches are beautiful, I'd take PV over Hawaii any day! The food is wonderful. So are the people. I guess the point of all this rant is that I believe you should go to a place trying to experience the culture and the people there. If all you're going to do is sit by a pool and drink watered down drinks, why not just stay home? Having said this, would someone please explain to me the appeal of Nuevo Vallarta, because I just don't see it.

[Arizona Karen]

Having said this, would someone please explain to me the appeal of Nuevo Vallarta, because I just don't see it.

We travel with another family of which the father is a real stickler. He has to stay somewhere which provides the comforts of America and especially the building construction like that in America. Poodlelady is probably this father's doopelganger. However, that's as far as I let his sticklerness (new word by the way) go. I insist that we ride the bus into town so that we maintain the contact with the locals. We take trinkets along and give them to the smiling children who are willing to talk to us. We don't eat at the resort; we buy groceries where the locals shop and then cook at the Playa Royale condo.

One day the rest of our group was at the Los Veranos canopy tour. He and I couldn't go on it as he's over 250 pounds and I had a leg injury. We went to town for a day of shopping. When we were done, the first bus we came across was heading towards Mismaloya. I convinced him that we should take the bus out to Los Veranos to watch the rest of our group. He agreed. Of course, we then had to take the inland bus to Chico's Paradise. We then had to walk (hobble in my case) to try to find Los Veranos. Well, it's quite a way down the road. Along the way he saw a lot of interesting things; life in real Mexico and the beautiful Chico's Paradise. He was curious about the little ditches of "water" running across the dirt road from the houses to the creek. I wasn't sure I really wanted to tell him but finally advised that it was waste water. He took it surprisingly well although he looked at the creek differently from then on. To this day he talks about our little excursion as being his submersion into Mexican culture. Without Nuevo Vallarta and his knowledge that at the end of the day he'll be back in his 'norm', I'm not sure we could convince him to experience Mexico at all. I'm sure that there are some places in town which would provide the same for him but he just prefers Nuevo. I do think the beaches of NV are nicer; they're not as crowded and appear less polluted.

In two years we have to convince him to go to Tonga where his stepdaughter wants to go for her graduation vacation! Wish us luck with that...

[poodlelady]

I have said several times that we loved the beautiful weather, the pool was nice, always love the beach & ocean, the walk downtown was fun and also the boardwalk was neat and they have a lot of nice shops. It seems that if you want to post a complaint you are looked down upon, sorry but I am not going to sugar coat it for the next uninformed vacationer. I am going to tell the truth, I am from the midwest and we are honest people. Originally from Iowa, (GO HAWKS) and now from Kansas (WHAT ABOUT THOSE JAYHAWKS)! Sorry but the mold, bed and the food left us with bad memories. I do not need a free vacation, but I will complain if the situation is bad enough, and it was! I have also been advised that the Holiday Inn is going to address the mold situation. I doubt that the food ever changes and the beds will probably always be hard as a rock. Sorry for offending all the Canadian birds that flock to Puerto Vallarta year after year. I guess I am considered a spoiled princess afterall.......

"People will forget what you said;
people will forget what you did.
But people will never forget how you
made them feel."

[Plus4]

poodlelady welcome to the forum ... It is very hard to be accepted on a forum when ones first posts are complaints...
You and others DO have a right to give an honest report on how your vacation was.....
After our first PV experience I thought we would never go back but something about PV drew me ...I am so happy we did return..I hope you do make a return trip and I hope your trip will be all you want it to be...

poodlelady must have taken kagnew64's good suggestion and contacted the HI....That was the right thing to do...

I should leave replies to your problems to other members of this board.
I have never stayed at the HI and have travelled to PV but a few times; but I hate for anyone to have a bad vacation experience.

Please send HI management a detailed list of deficiencies. If you don't
tell them of your dissatisfaction they won't make necessary changes.
Be a force for positive change.
I hope your next trip is more to your satisfaction

[teduardo]

Sorry for offending all the Canadian birds that flock to Puerto Vallarta year after year. I guess I am considered a spoiled princess afterall.......

Gosh...sure wish we were Canadian so we could go year after year.

I think the Honolulu suggestion was a good one for her.

[tojol57]

Iowa, (GO HAWKS) and now from Kansas (WHAT ABOUT THOSE JAYHAWKS)! Sorry for offending all the Canadian birds that flock to Puerto Vallarta year after year. I guess I am considered a spoiled princess afterall.......

"People will forget what you said;
people will forget what you did.
But people will never forget how you
made them feel."

I would have never guessed you for a Hawkeye (Cyclone maybe), and yes the Jayhawks did come thru for my brackets, but i had so many other let downs on my NCAA sheets....

I have to becareful here, as i have to agree with Sylvia... no offense poodlelady... it is hard to get to know a person when their very first post is so negative... and as you can see many people were very skeptical with your comments, i too was very skeptical... we have known many people that stay at the HI and have had a wonderful experience... we would meet on the beach between HI and GCP, we would meet at the Oasis for cocktails or a light lunch etc...

We have been coming to this area for 15 yrs now (Puerto Vallarta for 10 yrs and Nuevo for 5 yrs before that).. we have been travelling to Mexico and the Caribbean for 20 yrs now... so we have gotten to be very comfy with Puerto Vallarta and all her qualities good and bad....

so i hope you find your niche in Vallarta, or at least give Vallarta another shot at your vacation dollars....

[ronald]

I'll second the above commotion. We are somewhat of a.... unique... group of people who wonder out loud and in writing the intentions of someone whose first posts damn our version of paradise. You seem to have passed the 'hazing' like a trooper, and I am sure that with time any hard feelings you may now have towards the likes of Canucks such as I will pass.

Welcome to the Board... In spite of everything, I do hope that you give PV a second chance. There is a lot of good that it provides for people who just want a break from their everyday stressful lives.

Sometimes you don't have to go very far to have a problem. I just spent a few days in Regina (worst water in Canada) in a wonderful hotel (Hotel Saskatchewan), but even then it was not uneventful. Here I am trying to sleep and Romeo next door starts up about 10 p.m. and never quit till 1 a.m. (3 hours). His headboard was obviously back to back behind my wall... and never quit banging in that almost forgotten but familiar rhythm. Then at 2:30 a.m. some drunk who couldn't read numbers was trying his key on my room door. Either that or he had the room on the other side and confused me with superman next door and wandered to far in his attempt to congratulate the guy next door on his endurance ability.

My point is that the best hotels sometimes have problems, and the worst can be pleasurably memorable as well on occasion. That's no reason to give up on a whole community.

[Dawna]

Poddle lady, you could not be any more RIGHT! I agree 100%! We stayed there a year and a half ago and it was a dive! All we heard the entire stay was some guy with a jack hammer doing repairs to the concrete around the pool and loud music and noisey spring break kids. I understand kids have spring break, but no one monitored them. It was disgusting how the pool looked. They drank and never got out of it - I presume they were doing their peeing in the pool and spilling their drinks in it too! By the end of the weekend the pool color was a disgusting ugly merky color and we would not even go in it because you could not even seee the bottom! We went next door and bought drinks at the Villa del Pal Mar to get in their clean pool. (Now that place you could call a 4 star!) I agree too about the Food at HI was slop! The rooms were disgusting, we had stained bed sheets and mold on the walls! We complained about all this to the manager and he seemed angry and did nothing. Worst stay we have every had in PV! We will NEVER stay there again. I have stayed at 2 stars and had better! PLEASE BE WARNED. If enough people say it is true then it is. If it walks like a duck and quaks like a duck, then likley it is a duck!

[Dawna]

QUOTE: "It is very hard to be accepted on a forum when ones first posts are complaints...???"

I find this hard to beleive someone actually said this. Did I not read the Forum was called COMPLAINTS & WARNINGS FOR PUERTO VALLARTA?

No need to take offence or take it personal. If people want to voice their opinions or experiences, this forum is named what it is, so other people can evaluate comments and make an informed decisions.

[Plus4]

Quote Dawna:

It is very hard to be accepted on a forum....
QUOTE: "It is very hard to be accepted on a forum when ones first posts are complaints...???"

I find this hard to beleive someone actually said this. Did I not read the Forum was called COMPLAINTS & WARNINGS FOR PUERTO VALLARTA?

No need to take offence or take it personal. If people want to voice their opinions or experiences, this forum is named what it is, so other people can evaluate comments and make an informed decisions

.............................................................................

Dawna you missed a few lines from my post.... Like these...

poodlelady welcome to the forum ... It is very hard to be accepted on a forum when ones first posts are complaints...
**You and others DO have a right to give an honest report on how your vacation was.....**
After our first PV experience I thought we would never go back but something about PV drew me ...I am so happy we did return..I hope you do make a return trip and I hope your trip will be all you want it to be...

poodlelady must have taken kagnew64's good suggestion and contacted the HI....That was the right thing to do...

I should leave replies to your problems to other members of this board.
I have never stayed at the HI and have travelled to PV but a few times; but I hate for anyone to have a bad vacation experience.

Please send HI management a detailed list of deficiencies. If you don't
tell them of your dissatisfaction they won't make necessary changes.
Be a force for positive change.
I hope your next trip is more to your satisfaction

.....................................................


btw Dawna I think it is wonderful and much needed having a complaints forum on a board....
Welcome to the forum..

[Dawna]

Thanks Plus 4 for the welcome.

I would like to ad I have had better experiences staying at privately owned condominiums. We stayed several times at Porto Fino. Now they classify that as a 5 star and so if thgey claim HI is only one star level down, someone gotta be drinking too much tequila when they did that rating...LOL. The HI in my opinion was more like a 2 star.

Anyhow at least we did not let the HI experience, nor the time share rip off dampen our spirits of PV. We are buying a condo there this summer at the Marina. On the positive side most hotels and restaurants are generally good. Only one beef I had with a restuarant in the Marina I had always gone to but wont be back. Faihita Banana has great day time servers but we got a terrible gumpy one one night 2 weeks ago. He even had the never to stick in the bill a note that read "tips are not included in bill"...I thought that was very bold. I didnt say anything and I do always tip, but I thought tipping was at my descretion, but to have it flagged to my attention, Geeesh come on I am not a kindergarten kid - I know these things. Despite bad service and a rude reminder of the tip, I still tipped him, but no way I am going back. I have my own customer service business myself and I look at it this way, you have one shot. You treat the customer poorly and they will never return and they will tell many others. You treat a customer good and you have em for life, plus good future referral business and that's better than advertising.

BTW, Plus 4 - I like your signature. I have another one I like slightly better. "never agrue with a fool, people watching wont know who's who"...LOL.